The Dodgers’ slumping offense. And the New York Mets’ balky late-game bullpen.
This time, the Dodgers offense triumphed. Barely.
After entering the ninth inning down a run — and on the verge of a sixth consecutive loss — in the first game of a doubleheader at Citi Field, the Dodgers instead pushed the game to extra innings before completing a 5-2 comeback win with three runs in the 10th.
It was the kind of timely outburst that had eluded the Dodgers in recent weeks, when their struggling lineup had led to five straight losses and nine out of 16 overall.
And all it took, apparently, was a meeting with the Mets’ unreliable cast of late-game relievers, who blew their 10th save in 22 opportunities this season.
When push came to shove, it was the Dodgers who prevailed.
For the first seven innings of Tuesday’s opening game — which had been postponed from Monday night because of rain — it looked like the Mets were destined to win in a matchup between reeling clubs.
A two-run home run by Francisco Lindor in the third inning was the only early scoring.
And while Tyler Glasnow was solid in a seven-inning start for the Dodgers, giving up no other runs while striking out eighth, Mets starter Tylor Megill was even better, blanking the Dodgers’ scuffling bats in a seven-inning, three-hit, nine-strikeout gem.
A sixth straight loss, something the Dodgers haven’t suffered since 2018, seemed likely.
But then, their offense finally managed to flip the script.
In the eighth inning, Freddie Freeman bounced a two-out RBI single the other way through the infield, cutting a 2-0 Mets lead in half.
In the ninth, the Dodgers put on a squeeze play with runners on the corners and no outs, tying the score when Chris Taylor’s bunt got away from Mets reliever Adam Ottavino.
The Mets missed a chance to end the game in the bottom of the ninth, squandering a bases-loaded, one-out opportunity against Daniel Hudson.
Then, the Dodgers finally put a crooked number on the scoreboard in the 10th, getting an RBI single from Mookie Betts and a two-run homer from Freeman to halt their recent skid and change their frustrated fortunes — finding at long last a unit less capable than their ultra-cool offense.
Shohei Ohtani to sit out Game 2
Shohei Ohtani insisted Monday that his bruised hamstring is continuing to improve. However, the slugger was only in the lineup for Game 1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader, with the Dodgers opting for a more cautious approach with their $700 million slugger.
Because of Ohtani’s bruise — which he sustained by getting hit with a pick-off throw last week — the Dodgers didn’t want him to have to get loose twice in one day. Instead, Roberts slotted catcher Will Smith as the designated hitter in Game 2, and said he wasn’t planning to use Ohtani as a pinch-hitter.
“Cranking up [and] getting hot with the hamstring, then to cool down and get back going [for Game 2] doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” Roberts said.
Injury updates
Closer Evan Phillips is expected to rejoin the Dodgers on Friday, Roberts said. Phillips, who has been out since May 3 with a hamstring strain, will make one more minor-league rehab appearance this week first. … Max Muncy remains on a “slow program” in his recovery from an oblique strain, Roberts said, with the slugger continuing to feel discomfort almost two weeks into his injured list stint. Muncy has stopped swinging for the time being, but Roberts is hopeful he will resume doing so “soon” … Bobby Miller has been out since mid-April with a shoulder injury, but is scheduled to make his second minor-league rehab start either Friday or Saturday. Roberts said that outing is expected to be four innings. After that, the team will decide the right-hander’s next step.